When it comes to instructional time, what matters most is that we organize our plans around a purpose.
Tag: writing
Teaching Each Instead of All
My journey (so far) with differentiating writing instruction to meet each learner’s needs.
Three Things I Believe
A tough start to the school year combined with the launch of a new unit created the perfect storm to force me to put into writing 3 beliefs that drive me as an educator.
From Good to Great with Mentor Text Study
Several years ago, I taught The House on Mango Street and I did what a lot of English teachers do while teaching The House on Mango Street — I assigned my students a vignette writing assignment using Sandra Cisnero’s work as the writing model. And I remember that assignment being good. My students worked hard […]
Breaking Mentor Texts into Loose Parts
Loose parts are easier to examine, replicate, and experiment with. How do we break a mentor text down?
Reader Mail: How do you balance writing and reading instruction?
“Would you rather teach only writing or only reading?” The question my husband asked me during a marathon session of Would You Rather (we were driving from Virginia to Maine). “Writing. Hands down.” From the time I was a little girl, I’ve kept diaries, written letters to friends near and far, submitted poems to contests. […]
Permission to Start the Year with Blank Walls
Starting with blank space allows for more collaborative instruction throughout the year.
Coaching the Overwhelmed Writer
Sticky notes and index cards can help overwhelmed writers take things bit by bit.
Happy New Year from Moving Writers!
2015 was a momentous year for us at Moving Writers: we published a book with Heinemann, and collected over 52,000 views on our blog! This is all thanks to you, dear readers, for your support, your questions, and your continued interest and enthusiasm in our work. As a thank you, we are reposting our top […]
Writing Our Way Into Critical Thinking
Way back one month ago, I made some resolutions for my classes. Among them was a switch-up that would turn the Quick Write into a broader Notebook Time — giving my students lots of varied opportunities to play with words in different ways. In short, switching things up has been invigorating for my students. I […]
